Dorsett ties up with Diamond Resorts to expand global footprint
Hong Kong based Dorsett Hospitality International is expanding its brand presence to the US and Europe through an affiliation programme with vacation ownership group, Diamond Resorts International.The partnership, which was inked in Hong Kong recently, will see the two companies doing cross marke [...]
Alehap uses social to get Vietnamese youths to travel independently
A new OTA in Vietnam, which started out around a social idea, is trying to get young Vietnamese to travel independently by making travel booking “easy, transparent, friendly and sociable”.Alehap’s co-founder Simon Christy (below), who comes from an advertising background (he worked with Ogilvy [...]
The Wrap: Booking rooms on the go with ImpulseFlyer’s iPhone app
In the news: New iPhone app from Impulse Flyer, Travelport launches Merchandising Platform, IHG’s XML connection with CtripBooking rooms on the go with ImpulseFlyer’s iPhone appOnline luxury travel site, ImpulseFlyer, has launched its first iPhone app that features a carefully curated collectio [...]
“The OTA business is hard”, cost of traffic rising, competition intensifying
The rising costs of customer acquisition was cited as one key challenge for OTAs competing in the Asia Pacific region.During the WIT Indonesia panel, featuring MakeMyTrip, Expedia Inc,Agoda and ITA Software by Google, much was said about the rising costs of search – and as such, OTAs are trying [...]
Amadeus plugs loyalty gap in its airline solutions with latest acquisition
Amadeus has acquired the Loyalty Division of Istanbul-based Hitit Computer Services, finally filling a gap in its broad airline product portfolio.Announcing the purchase (price undisclosed), Julia Sattel, SVP, Airline IT, Amadeus said: “This is an important milestone for both Amadeus and our Airli [...]
Date with Lady Branson in red is (finally) on!
Virgin Group’s billionaire boss, Sir Richad Branson, is set to shave his legs, don a red female flight attendant uniform and serve passengers on a special AirAsia X Perth-Kuala Lumpur flight on 12 May two years after losing a bet to AirAsia group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes ove [...]
A first-timer’s view: The WIT factor in Indonesia
Just about a week ago, the first WIT Indonesia in Pullman Hotel, Central Park, Jakarta was held and as one of the ‘observers’ – and I’m pretty sure half of delegates who came were first-timers – I found it was an eye-opening experience in terms of not only what I learnt about online travel [...]
Bookings with mobile devices on the rise for SLH
Data released by Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) on global browsing and booking trends through its website revealed the significant role mobile devices are playing in the luxury hotel industry.In January 2013 SLH website hits in China were up by 406% year-on-year, Brazil 104%, Russia 22% an [...]
Hyatt puts customer experience at heart of its brands
Hyatt Hotels Corporation is undertaking a branding exercise to put customer experience at the heart of each of its six brands.Carina Chorengel, who’s taken on the new role of vice president branding for Asia Pacific, told WIT that branding champions had been set up in the different regions to le [...]
Instant booking and confirmation with Roomorama’s new service
Online platform for short-term rentals, Roomorama, has launched Instant Bookings for selected properties on its website, allowing for immediate confirmation of accommodation bookings and cutting users' waiting time.According to Roomorama, the service is the first of its kind in the short-term renta [...]
